From Whence Came Knowledge — God Or Man?

Ensign, ‘Our Moral Agency,’ March 1996“Knowledge of good and evil. Knowledge is essential for agency to exist. When Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, they made it possible for all to gain knowledge.” — L. Lionel Kendrick of the Seventy

Genesis 3:1-6 “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” [emp. added]

Proverbs 2:6 “For the Lord giveth wisdom: Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”

This has to be at, or near the top of the list, of the most egregious things this church has ever taught. The narrative in the Bible is chilling when you see what could have been. Equally heart wrenching is what Mormonism has embraced…

Questions —

If Eve knew how to talk and reason wouldn’t she already have knowledge?

The only thing Adam and Eve gained was the discovery they had separated themselves from their Maker. Thus began the whole saga of sin that’s plagued mankind ever since.

For the record, the transliteration for the Hebrew word ‘subtil’ in Genesis 3:1 is ʿārûm. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines it as cunning, usually in a bad sense, and crafty.

Does this sound like something the Most Holy God of the Universe would orchestrate?

Why does Mormon leadership push so hard on teaching members not to sin, when in fact they have this doctrine as their foundational belief?

It’s abundantly clear this is a duplicitous teaching, and nothing but a reflection of what happened in the Garden of Eden. It leads people away from Jesus, not to Him!

Believing you have to know evil in order to understand good comes from a Chinese proverb, and used heavily in witchcraft. This shouldn’t come as a surprise considering Joe Smith’s notorious background.

It’s obvious everyone is given free will to choose what they want to do in life. The narrative in Genesis chapter three is proof of this!

Please, share with the Mormon you know why Mr. Kendrick’s teaching is flawed – and don’t forget to use your Bible!